Run a remote usability test on your mobile app

Moderated usability testing on mobile has an awkward first ten minutes. The participant has to install a test build through TestFlight or an install link, on their own phone, with their own notifications and their own fat-finger anxiety, and then share that phone’s screen over a call that was not built for it. Half the session is setup, and the half that isn’t is a shaky camera pointed at a phone.

With collaboration, the participant and you look at the same live device. They drive it; you see every tap as it happens.

1. Prepare the build and the scenario

Upload a build that runs on its own: for React Native or Expo, a release build or a simulator build with the JavaScript bundled in, so nothing depends on your laptop. Point it at a backend that is stable for the study, and create a test account per participant if the app has a sign-in, so nobody sees the previous person’s data.

Decide the device before the session: the phone size your users have, light or dark appearance, and a location if the flow depends on one. Set these on the Devices page before the participant joins.

2. Start the session and invite the participant

Start a session on the device you chose and open the app. Click Collaborate above the device, turn on Enable collaboration, choose Can control and copy the link. Send it in the call’s chat when you are ready to begin.

The participant opens the link and lands straight in the live stream: no sign-in, no install. The top of their page shows the app’s name and says that they can control the device. On a laptop they click and type; on a phone or tablet the device responds to touch and a swipe drives the app instead of scrolling the page. They also get the device’s own controls, such as Home and Back.

3. Add observers who can’t interfere

For colleagues who want to watch, switch the role to View only and copy a fresh link. The new role applies to whoever joins with that link, while the participant keeps the control they joined with. Observers see the same screen in real time but their clicks do nothing, so a curious stakeholder cannot accidentally help. How many guests a session can hold depends on your plan; Team and Business allow a participant plus observers.

4. During the session

Keep the conversation on your usual video call and the app in the collaboration link. Ask the participant to think aloud, and watch their path rather than steering it. Everyone, guests included, can hear the device if the app plays sound.

A few things that help:

• Reset between tasks from your side of the session: you hold the same controls, so you can return to a starting screen without asking the participant to.
• Take screenshots of the moments you want in the report; the Screenshot button saves exactly what is on screen.
• Record the call with your video tool if you need a recording. VibeView streams the session but does not save a video of it.

A session where someone is actively using the device stays open. If everyone only talks for a long stretch, an inactivity countdown appears about a minute before the session would end, and any tap on the device resets it.

5. End cleanly

When the session is over, turn off Enable collaboration or stop the session. Either one disconnects every guest immediately, so the participant’s link stops working the moment you are done. For the next participant, start a new session for a clean app state, and send a new link.

Unmoderated tests

If participants should work through tasks on their own, send them a share link instead of a collaboration link: each person gets their own fresh session from the app’s Share tab, with optional limits on duration and an expiry date. You won’t see them live, but the Session history page records when each one ran and for how long.

Frequently asked questions

Does the participant need an account or an app? No. A collaboration link opens in the browser with no sign-in and nothing to install.

Can participants join from a phone? Yes. The device responds to touch in a mobile browser, which is closer to how they would hold the app.

Can I test an iOS app with an Android participant, or the other way round? Yes. The app runs on a cloud device, so what the participant owns doesn’t matter.

Does it work for TV apps? Yes. Apple TV, Android TV and Roku sessions can be shared the same way; the participant uses the arrow keys or the on-screen remote.

Is the session recorded? Not by VibeView. Record the video call, and take screenshots of key moments with the Screenshot button.